Commonly owned Australian Patent Application No 2003271417 discloses a method and apparatus for forming products from a bouffant admixture of fibrous and cellulose materials. In AU2003271417 the fibrous material comprised wool fibre, and the invention was directed at a process for successfully combining wool fibre with cellulose to form a composite with superior insulating qualities. Typically the fibrous material employed in AU2003271417 comprised a combination of different fibrous materials including wool fibre, fibrous bonding material, fibrous filler material, polyester fibre and low melting point polyester fibre. AU2003271417 describes a preferred mixture of fibrous materials in the following proportions: approximately 50% low melting point polyester fibre; approximately 25% filler polyester fibre; and approximately 25% wool fibre. The method and apparatus of AU2003271417 was primarily designed to produce insulating batts made of the composite material, or alternatively an absorbent mat that has particular utility for soaking up oil or chemical spills.
Whilst the products formed by the method and apparatus of AU2003271417 were generally well suited to the purpose for which they were designed, the manufacturing process was somewhat expensive to operate. Furthermore, in view of the relatively high proportion of synthetic fibrous material employed in the products they were not very environmentally friendly.
The present invention was developed with a view to providing an improved method and apparatus for manufacturing a product of integrated cellulose and fibrous materials.
References to prior art in this specification are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not to be taken as an admission that such prior art is part of the common general knowledge in Australia or elsewhere.